The third edition of Best Companies for Women in India (2018 BCWI) study was conducted by AVTAR Group and Working Mother. The study shows lower attrition rates of women than men, at all levels in the corporate hierarchy.

The selection was based on data of highest order granularity spanning seven key policy clusters, namely, Workforce profile, Flexible work, Women’s recruitment and retention, Benefits & Work-Life Programs, Parental Leave, Company culture, and Safety and security, as provided by the applicant companies. 

The report notes that there has been increasing focus amongst participant companies in the holistic well-being of their employees, specifically women. Apart from instantiating organizational enablers to support various facets of their professional and personal pursuits like mentoring, skill-building programs and child care services, companies are increasingly driving initiatives that address the challenges faced by women professionals, specifically around maternity.

To help returning mothers reintegrate themselves to their workplaces, 71% of 100 Best companies have Formal Phase-Back Programmes (structured reintegration programmes for returning mothers). 

49% of companies provide formal support to counter post-partum stress and depression (up 11% from 2017) through innovative practices like ‘Buddy Mother Networks’ and pre-scheduled Stay-in-touch days. Such programs help in containing maternity attrition – the drop-out of women at the altar of motherhood. 

The 100 Best companies this year reported only a 12% maternity attrition, to mean that the vast majority of women, who took their maternity breaks, joined back full-time work. The overall representation of women at the 100 Best companies stands at 31% in 2018 - a 6% surge from 25% in the launch year of BCWI – 2016.

There are also other interventions that cater to holistic well-being of professionals driven by the 100 Best. These programmes tremendously increase their engagement with their employers, translating to better retention. These are gender inclusive programmes, which can be availed by all employees irrespective of their gender identity. 77% of companies intentionally invest in stress reduction programmes (up from 48% in 2017), 70% provide professional support towards mental health consultation (up from 53% in 2017), 63% provide marital/relationship counselling (up from 47% in 2017), 60% provide formal support on grief counselling (up from 44% in 2017) and 48% provide emotional support counselling (up from 37% 2017).  

The 2018 Top 10 Best Companies for Women in India are listed below (in alphabetical order):

• Accenture Solutions Private Limited
  
  
• ADP Private Limited
  
  
• Barclays Global Service Centre Pvt. Ltd.
  
  
• Deloitte in India
  
  
• EY
  
  
• IBM India Pvt Ltd
  
  
• Shell India Markets Pvt Ltd
  
  
• Tata Consultancy Services
  
  
• Tech Mahindra
  
  
• Verizon Data Services India Pvt. Ltd